


So, Clones?

by kathrikat



Category: Kakos Industries (Podcast)
Genre: Clones, Gen, M/M, Possibly OOC, Typical Kakos Industries Evilness, lil bit of violence, shady shit, slight crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-01 07:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6508510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathrikat/pseuds/kathrikat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clones. That's all I'm gonna say.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So, Clones?

     So far, it had been a busy day for Corin. He had been in three unexpected meetings, two of which involved Iele Solomonari who had made it her top priority to make Corin's life a living hell. There had apparently been some complaints about some of the Divisions which then lead to some sort of all out war between each side (Corin had no idea what each of them were even fighting about, mind you) and so the blame was being pinned on Corin for "Not being able to keep things under control" and "Poor executive behavior." which seemed preposterous, he had done worse things before. When he tried to contact a well known peer, Grace Rule, there had been no response. She was no where to be found. At first, Corin suspected it was because she was off doing something on her own time, but according to other employees, she hadn't been seen since last weeks Festival of Disappearances. The executive didn't know whether that was good or bad. After all the theme _was_ disappearance, but all the others that had vanished had come back by now. Corin wasn't complaining, and he wasn't worried either, she could take care of herself. However without Grace Rule there he did have a shit ton more freedom. Maybe they were calling him reckless because she wasn't there to hold his hand for the time being. He wouldn't put it past them.

So far, it had been a busy day, and it wasn't even half over yet.

He stared at the paperwork he pretended to care about, and tapped his fingers against the mahogany desk.

  
_Corin Deeth III, CEO_

  
     Read the plaque he had had custom made. Black diamond, engraved. It had equal amounts of beauty and said don't fuck with me. Hand painted. His exhausted face reflected in it and he smiled. Smiles were usually something people saw as menacing, but this time it was genuine. It was one of nostalgia, the remembrance of his grandfather dragging him through Kakos Industries and trying to shove every rule and moral of the company down his throat. Showing him the divisions and talking in his wacky slang. It was a simpler time that lead to years of training.

His covered eyes flicked to the red button blinking on his answering machine which was followed by a rather loud groan of annoyance. Grace was usually the one to take calls when he wasn't around. She really did a lot that he took for granted and now Corin had to find out who the fuck wanted to bother him so early in the day.  


_Click!_  


The red light disappeared, and a surprising voice came out of the other end.

 

_"Hallo, Sir. It's me, "Dunklewissen"!_

Corin grimaced, hearing the quotation marks through the message. He didn't know why, but the scientist tended to do it a lot whilst talking. Some sort of code perhaps?

 _"I have a "proposition" for you involving some "genetic" transformations."_  


The man's smile was severely prominent in his speech, and Corin scowled at the thought of it. It was so perfectly obnoxious. The ratio of that and the man's strange mannerisms were why Corin hated interacting with the fellow doctor, but if he was going to do something and was consulting him, he should probably look into it. After all, the damn scientist never consulted anyone before conducting an experiment.  


This one, according to the message, was "of "great" importance with someone you "admire"."  


Whatever that meant.  


_"Please "get back" to me at your earliest convenience._

_I'll be seeing you soon! I know you're listening to this!"_  


The smile faded out, and Corin made his way out of the office.  
  


* * *

 

 

Dunklewissen was like that one nail in the ikea packet that didn't fit anywhere but still made you uneasy.  


He stood in his lab with complete precision. He stood back and looked at the 'blue prints' he had created. If he knew his CEO well, and he did, much to Corin's dismay, then Corin would be arriving in exactly five minutes. Calculations wouldn't be off. They _couldn't_ be off. He had spent weeks learning his peer's stride, counting his steps. Their was always things Dunklewissen _could_ be doing, but he liked to spend his time on things that weren't directly Kakos related. Like creating mucus for everyone to eat, or using people's DNA against their will, and blackmailing people's families. He smiled. It was all in the contract. Granted, it was the contract _he_ made and gave to Kakos to sign, but it was all there. His pencil fell on his disinfected table. The entire lab was clean. Not _clean_ clean, but clean like a hospital.  


It reeked of alcohol and clorox. If the lab was personified, it'd be a clean well fit body, but with dirt under the fingernails, bags under the eyes. Something bad just _lurking._ Dunklewissen loved that. He loved to watch people walk into the lab and then jump when he appeared behind them, the facade he wore that was so _clean_ dropping for a split second, just enough to make them think that they saw they real him, but not enough to be sure. To Dunklewissen, being Evil came second. A close second, but still second. First priority was his experiments, his ideas, and himself.  


His grimey (are they grimey?) fingers tap his operation table in thought as the door to his lab opens with low hum. He looks to his timer and a deep frown spreads across his face.  


_4:59_  


_All in the fine print, indeed._  


* * *

 

 _"You want to do_ **_what_ ** _to Soundman?"_

     To answer the CEO's question, Dr. Dunklewissen hands Corin a poorly drawn picture labelled " _Blue Prints_ " at the top. In the middle of the white space (not blue), was one lonely stick figure with the label _Soundman_ above it, as well as an arrow pointing to a shoddily drawn machine that had the scribbled words _Dunklewissen's Fucking Dope Clone Machine™_ above it. Below that drawing, was a depiction of several stick figure Soundmen running out of the _Fucking Dope Clone Machine_ and were "Free" as Dr. Dunklewissen himself had written above them. Brows furrowed, Corin stared at the picture for a long time, hoping the scientist would think he had a clue as to what any of that meant, and then handed the drawing back to him. Any emotion was hidden behind Corin's sunglasses, and he hoped the scientist would fall for the facade. (He didn't)

     The thing with Dunklewissen was that he was _Evil_ _._ That's right, Evil _italicized,_ which is more evil, according to the handbook. He was more evil than Corin, Melantha, _Hailey_. That last one might be a stretch, but it's better to be safe than sorry. The doctor was more evil than anyone in the company for all Corin knew. It's how the guy worked, it's how he got in, it's how he gets out, it's how he's _independent._ Corin hated it. Who knows if he's even for or against Kakos Industries. All of his experiments consist of the company's own employees and when it fails not only is it expensive, but it wastes time. Yes, he's great at his job, but as to what the fuck he was doing most of the time at work, Corin didn't know, nor seem to care. Even taking one wrong step with the scientist was a bad idea. Who knows what the fuck the bastard could do to him. Corin didn't know, no one fucking knew. There was only one person and that was the doctor himself, and Corin didn't want to see that sickly smile again any time soon.

  
"I'm making a bunch of Stevens for an..." _experiment_ "." He puts quotations around experiment, which made Corin raise a questioning brow.  


"So, clones?"  


The scientist nodded. "Yes. They can all..."run the place"." Another set of quotation marks, "You know how Steven is," Dunklewissen smiles, its sickly and makes Corin want to turn, but he doesn't "Always on time, ready for anything. It'd be "beneficial." And since you lov-"  


     Corin snapped, placing a hand against the other man's mouth. He could practically taste his bad breath against his hand and the doctors skin felt fowl to the touch. The man was so _unhygienic_. He didn't look it though. There was no evidence of the skin being tainted but the _touch_. Corin's lip turned up a little in disgust. An illusion? A game? You know, Corin wasn't going to judge, each to their own you know, but the guy felt as though he hadn't bathed in a fucking decade.  _None of the other employees are like this,_ Corin thought, and the other man's smile turned up even more, revealing his perfect teeth. (Could the doctor read minds? Probably. Does Corin want to know? Not even a little) Yet underneath that there was like this, this _yellowing_ , and _rotting_ , and something that _wasn't_ human. Which wasn't a problem. Kakos Industries was always bringing in employees that weren't human, but it was so _unsettling_.

Corin removed his hand, wiping it off on his handkerchief. Would it kill a guy to wash his face every once in a while? There were probably more germs on this guy's face then there were on the bottom of the CEOs shoe.

"Sorry. You wouldn't want any rumors spread about your peer, would you?"  


Dunklewissen stayed silent, and then asked, "Am I allowed to do this _"experiment"_ or not?"  


Corin gesticulated. "Depends. Define _"experiment."_ "  


Dunklewissen frowned, his brows furrowing at his semi rival. "We both _"know"_ what my experiments involve. You have no need to worry."  


" _Doctor._ I think I have every right to be worried. You are preforming on one of my most valuable assets to this company."  


Dr. Dunklewissen twitched. A surge of anger that stung in his finger tips. They continued to tap against the metal table. "I'll do it anyway, you know."  


Corin laughed, his shades reflecting Dunklewissen's irritated expression.  


"Then why did you ask? Because I care about Soundman? Because he's valuable to me? Please. He's an asset to you as he is to everyone else. You just need someone to pin the blame on if something goes wrong. You want my "permission"," he mocked the doctors quotations, "so when Steven dies, you can tell everyone it was all Corin's fault. Well good for you. Truly evil plan. Why don't you just get it done with already to fuel my over inflated ego? Thanks for the shoutout, Dr. Dunklewissen. I owe you one."  


The doctor's jaw clenched. "I don't do this for you, Corin. This is all for-"  


"I'm sorry." Corin interrupted, "But you call _me_ on my own time, which I could've spent on so many other, _better_ things, and you have the audacity to call me-"  


" _Sir_. I don't do this for you, _sir_."  


"That's better. Now quit wasting my time and either do whatever you're going to, or actually do some real work for once."  


Dunklewissen, albeit hesitant, did.

 

* * *

 

     Steven sat nervously on the operation table. Dunklewissen hadn't stopped grinning since he had walked in, and the only thing as of now that was keeping Steven calm was Corin. Who had decided to supervise everything after Duklewissen had made a joke at Soundman's expense. Something about shrugging when asked about his safety. This did not help what so ever.

"Go in the machine." Dunklewissen ordered, offering him one of his _you're totally not going to get hurt_ smiles. Corin shot him a look behind his shades, though Dunklewissen pretended not to notice.  


"You ready?"  


_No._ Is what Steven wanted to say, to shout it in the CEO's beautiful fucking face. Kick and scream, run away, but Corin and that stupid scientist always got their way somehow, so he kept his mouth shut. He nodded and stood inside of it.  


_Good Steven. Steven always follows orders. Steven's the reason this company is even running properly. Steven this, Steven that._  


He wasn't sick of it, but sometimes it was bothersome when everyone treated you like the company baby. Granted, it wasn't all the time, but it still happened. The inside of the machine was cold, and wrapped around Steven like a metallic blanket. The door was promptly slammed, the last thing Steven saw being Dunklewissen's inhuman smile. What a great thing to die to. Okay, no. He was doing this for Corin and if it made his peer happy then fine. He could do it. With a heavy breath, Steven realized how claustrophobic he suddenly felt, and jumped when several mechanical arms started poking and prodding at him. The whole process was only a few minutes, and when he stepped out, there were 8 of himself, all wearing the same clothes. All looking just as surprised as he was.

And then Dunklewissen spilt some crazy disinfectant on one of them, and they melted, so make that 7 Stevens. 8 if you included himself. It was so odd to see. Was that _really_   what his face looked like all the time? 

 

* * *

 

The Stevens were all rounded up at first, and then distributed among the company to do certain tasks. Some Soundmen were janitors and did other mundane tasks such as that. There were a few that were assistants to employees and happily did what they were told.

While the others could do it with ease, Corin had a hard time telling the Stevens apart, and therefore had ordered them all to wear shirts that had their designated numbers on the back. One through seven, plus the original which just had "Number One Sound Engineer" on the back. Corin had also made sure to draw a black line across Steven's wrist for good measure.

Evil had gone up by 10% since this entire thing had happened. Corin should really be thanking the crazy scientist, but he couldn't help but think this was all going to end disastrously.

 

There was that one part of him that said all of Dunklewissen's work ends horribly one way or another, and that this wasn't going to be any different. In a way, Corin's instinct was right.  


The CEO was glad that all of them came out alright, but there was still a lingering feeling of dread. He felt the overwhelming urge to grab a bag of popcorn, sit back and watch the inevitable happen.

Which is of course when _it_ had to happen. It was like this low rumbling in the background of his office. It wasn't the vibration department, he had checked. And it wasn't the Division of Low Rumbling Noises either. That entire division wasn't even at work today. No, it was coming from the floor, running up his feet and banging into his chest. Music?  


Corin got onto the floor, pressing his ear roughly against it. He could hear it much, much better now. A low thumping that sounded like drums, a trumpet, guitars, and a voice that Corin vaguely recognized, though he couldn't place from where since it was still hard to hear through all the levels of the industry.  


_Can't you see I'm the one,_  
_I'm the ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR_

The music drifted off into nothing from there, and Corin strained to hear anything else. Oh, this was _rich._ Whoever was doing this was going to get the biggest earful once he found where it was coming from and then he was going to-  


_"Corin?"_  


The CEO shot up at the sudden call of his name. His eyes ran up from the bottom of the person's shoe, right into their eyes. Into the eyes of _Grace Rule._  


_How much did she know? Had she seen all of the Stevens?_ He swallowed and jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands together in nervous fashion.  


"Grace! Long time no see! Where have you been lately? You sure have missed a lot!"  


Grace raised a brow and Corin could feel her non human blood begin to boil.  


_"And what have I missed exactly?"_  


Corin laughed, waving a hand. "Nothing! Nothing at all! Just a few overly boring meetings, speaking of which I have one in" he looks at his watch, "five minutes ago! I'll be seeing you around Grace!"  


_"But Corin you don't have any me-"_  


_"_ Talk to you later! Have fun!"  


He raced out of the office, not even bothering to look back and headed toward Dr. Dunklewissen's lab. Not once as he ran did he see any of the Stevens. Not even the original. In the lab, the scientist was frantic, pacing around the operating table. "Where the _hell_ are all the Stevens?" Corin hissed. Grace Rule could hear through walls for all he knew, and he really didn't want his guts crushed under her shoe today. The doctor snapped his head up, annoyance on his face.  


"I thought you could tell me, _sir._ After all you're the one who's been against me this entire time! I wouldn't be surprised if you killed them all!"  


Corin scoffed. "What the hell would I gain from killing them? Do you really think me that stupid?"  


Dunklewissen clenched his fists. "I'm not going to answer that! Grace is here, even _after_ the plan I set up, and now-"  


"What _plan_?" Corin spoke through a clenched jaw and Dunklewissen waved off the question nonchalantly, as if it were something he just does every other week. "You know, if you don't fix this right now, both of our skulls are going to be crushed with one of her bare hands!"  


"Look, they couldn't have run away, I made sure of that. All we have to do is-"  


Their arguing stopped, interrupted by the loud music once again.  


"Where the _hell_ is that coming from?" Corin asked. It had been happening on and off all day.  


Dunklewissen raised a brow. "You've been hearing that too? I thought it was just me."  


Corin shook his head. "You find a way to distract Grace if she gets suspicious. I'm getting to the bottom of this."  


"If I die I'm suing you from the grave."  


Corin laughed. "Good luck finding the money for that."

 

* * *

 

     It had taken several hours, and he had only had to interact with Grace _twice_. Two times which were ultimately terrifying, but twice was better than having to sit down and talk face to face her for, say, an hour. Corin and Grace had this thing where they found ways to reduce stress on the CEO. Like stress balls that were in the form of the Kakos logo, (which Corin found annoying) or drawing, doing connect the dots etc, etc,. Simple things that weren't work related. It was fun, but Grace tended to take things a little too far. You see, she had this _very_ outgoing and extroverted personally which involved yelling, laughing, _exercise._ Corin avoided those "fun" Fridays as much as possible.  


He stood in front of the door now. It had been behind several other doors along this winding corridor that turned, oozed black, and vibrated with sound. The song that was coming through had started out a little something like this:

 

 _Can't you see it in my eyes_  
  
_I'm the one, I'm the— ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR_  
  
I'm not like the other guys  
  
(he's not like anybody, well..)  

_That's not completely right_  
  
There's a few that I'm just like  

 

He held his head against the door to get a better listen.

 

_Soundman and the Stevens, we're gonna make you smile_

 

_Me and you and I and him, are all the same guy_

  
_Soundman and the Stevens, come on now don't be shy_  
  
_Me and you and I and him, are all the same guy_

 

     If this wasn't work related (and Corin knew it wasn't), then there there was going to be a _huge_ problem. When he entered the room, there was no (surprise, surprise) kind of productivity _at_ _all_.

In the middle of the catastrophe was what he assumed to be the original Soundman, although he couldn't say for sure as none of them were wearing the shirts with their designated number on them. (Not could he get a good look at the wrist. Oh the problems of wearing sunglasses inside.) No, on each of their shirts were the words "Soundman and the Stevens." in shitty fabric paint and whatever else they had scrounged up. It was obvious they didn't expect anyone to see them, let alone _Corin_.

Instruments were scattered all around, between the seven Stevens that the Doctor had made. There was a bass player, an electric guitar player, a trumpet player, a cello player, one of them was on a tambourine, and the last one, the one that Corin assumed to be the original, was on the drums. Microphones were all aimed at them for their convenience.

 

Their tunes had stopped with an abrupt silence when Corin had stepped down into the basement. To be fairly honest, he had no idea of the area and had had to find it by himself because dammit that music was annoying. Not only that, but he sure as hell didn't expect Soundman to be conducting something like this in the company's basement. Maybe Corin's intuition was off more than he thought. Maybe Steven could be _bad,_ could be _evil._ It'd take work, sure. But _maybe_.  


" What the _hell_ is this?"  


Corin's arms folded across his chest, his face remained expressionless save for his eyes, which were covered anyway so it didn't really make a difference.  


Several "it isn't what it looks like, sir!"s and "we weren't doing anything wrong"s escaped from all of their guilty faces. Some had attempted to jump through the small window in the top corner, and one had already passed out from fear.   


There was a loud noise from behind Corin, and he knew that sound from anywhere. _It was Grace._ That damn doctor probably found a way to pin the blame on _him._ It wasn't even up for debate, actually. The doctor _did_ pin the blame on the CEO and now Grace was here to kill him for "causing" all this ruckus in the company. Yes, he could hear Dunklewissen's quotation marks loud and clear now.   


Hearing the noise become louder, he quickly shut the door and hid behind the Stevens. Surely she wouldn't go on an all out rampage if she saw _them_ first. The door swung open, revealing Grace in all her beastly non human form. Which was when the Stevens, much to Corin's surprise, began to _play_.  


His peer stopped in her tracks, and relaxed at the sound. Her non human form slowly drifting off into contentment, Corin let out a rather loud sigh of relief. He forgot that music soothed her. Any kind, actually. He had tested death metal on her once and she had been knocked out in a few minutes flat. Her form curled up on itself and returned to normal. Another one of the Stevens collapsed from exasperated fear.

Well, Corin knew three things now, one was that Grace Rule was not to be fucked with, two was that Dr. Dunklewissen was never going to see daylight again, and number three was  


_Thank Evil for Soundman and the Stevens._

**Author's Note:**

> I FINALLY FUCKING FINISHED THIS. I'm sorry if the ending is read as rushed, I got REALLY excited. Bonus points if you can tell me what the song that Soundmen and the Stevens play is based off of


End file.
